ODNI STATEMENT on the Unauthorized Disclosure of NSA Cryptological Capabilities

September 6, 2013

It should hardly be surprising that our intelligence agencies seek ways to
counteract our adversaries use of encryption. Throughout history, nations
have used encryption to protect their secrets, and today, terrorists,
cybercriminals, human traffickers and others also use code to hide their
activities. Our intelligence community would not be doing its job if we did
not try to counter that.

While the specifics of how our intelligence agencies carry out this cryptanalytic
mission have been kept secret, the fact that NSAs mission includes
deciphering enciphered communications is not a secret, and is not news. Indeed,
NSAs public website states that its mission includes leading the
U.S. Government in cryptology in order to gain a decision advantage
for the Nation and our allies.

The stories published yesterday, however, reveal specific and classified
details about how we conduct this critical intelligence activity. Anything
that yesterdays disclosures add to the ongoing public debate is outweighed
by the road map they give to our adversaries about the specific techniques
we are using to try to intercept their communications in our attempts to
keep America and our allies safe and to provide our leaders with the information
they need to make difficult and critical national security decisions.